PayPal adopts NFC for direct phone-to-phone payment transfers

To transfer money, one person uses the widget to request a specific amount from another. The pair then tap their phones together and the person paying is prompted to enter their PIN to complete the transaction.

PayPal Mobile senior director Laura Chambers unveiled the widget at the MobileBeat 2011 conference. It will launch later this summer in the US, although initially only Samsung Nexus S owners will be able to use the technology.

The system is similar to the non-NFC Bump feature PayPal has incorporated in its Android and iPhone app for some time. However, the company says the new widget is simpler to use, requiring fewer steps.

In a blog, Chambers says: "We're seeing staggering growth in PayPal mobile payments, showing a real consumer desire for the way they shop and pay to catch up with the way we live. But at PayPal, we've said all along that consumer behaviour won't change unless we're able to offer an experience that's truly better than what's available today. We've been looking at NFC technology for a while and we saw a tremendous opportunity to combine the best of NFC and the best of PayPal."